SALT LAKE CITY — When Jon Kotter was a little boy, he spent the early-morning hours on Pioneer Day watching his father finish the Deseret News Marathon before watching the Days of ’47 Parade.

Now 28, the family tradition remains intact, only instead of gathering to watch Jon's father, the Kotter clan crowds the finish line cheering for Jon. Kotter made their early-morning trip worth it Wednesday when he won the Deseret News Classic Marathon with a time of 2:30.06.

“It’s always been a family favorite,” Kotter said of the marathon that’s been held on Pioneer Day for 44 years. “We started watching my dad come in, and now it’s continued with me.”

Kotter started “running consistently” when he was 10 or 11 because of his father Scott.

“I ran my first marathon when I was 12,” he said, laughing as he admits he loved distance running from the start. “I enjoyed it right away. I did it well, and it was always a lot of fun for me. It’s been fun for me to do some of the same races as my dad.”

Kotter remembers the first time he beat his father in a race.

“I still remember it was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K,” he said. “I was 13 the first time I beat my dad. I haven’t looked back since.”

Kotter ran track and cross-country at Alta, where his favorite race was the 3,200 meters. He ran at BYU and became somewhat of a specialist in the 10K. He made all-conference in the 10K and academic All-American his senior season, and then moved on to law school.

He won the Deseret News Marathon in 2011, but couldn’t defend that title as he had to take the bar exam last year on July 24.

“Running is a nice break from the law, and being a lawyer is a nice break from running,” he said laughing.

He lined up Wednesday with high expectations.

“Was I expecting to win? No,” he admitted. “But I was hoping for it, hoping I could defend my title, even if was a year removed.”

The runner who won the marathon last year, Fritz Van de Kamp, opted to race in the new Deseret News half-marathon race, where he placed third. Kotter said he ran with the second-place finisher, Orem’s Alexander “Sasha” Pachev, 40, who finished in 2:37:55. John Rosswog, 33, Salt Lake City, was third with a time of 2:45:16.

“I felt great,” Kotter said of his race. “Twenty-six miles is never easy, but I felt roughly good at the end. It was particularly fun to have my mom and dad and several of my sisters there to cheer me on.”

Like Kotter, Allie Moore, the winner of the women's marathon, was focused on her goal to reach a certain time rather than where she might place.

“I had sort of a loose time goal,” she said. “It was 2 hours 53 minutes, and I came in just under that.”

The 26-year-old Salt Lake resident’s winning time was 2:51:34, while second place finisher, Meredith Sinclair, 35, also of Salt Lake, ran the course in 3:03:51. Michelle Lowry, 36, was third with a time of 3:06:28.

Moore said she felt great, as she led right from the start.

“A couple of women came up right at first, and those miles are really fast,” said Moore, who has won five marathons and helped the Wasatch Running Center’s Ultra team win its division in 2012. “I broke away in the second mile, and mostly ran alone. I couldn’t see anyone else.”

Amy Donaldson covers high school sports, winter and Olympic sports, as well as outdoor and recreation. She contributes to the Deseret News' Reasons to Run blog, as well as a twice-a-month fitness column. She also writes a more ..